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It’s almost fall! I have my front door decorated and my ‘It’s Fall, Ya’ll’ flag is flying. I love this time of year, the colors, the scents, and the tastes! Kalee over at SoreyFitness invited me to join her Fall Bucket List link-up, so here we go, my Fall Bucket List.

(1) Cider and Pumpkin Spice Lattes

I’ve already got a box of Hot Apple Cider K-Cups and a few BOGO Starbucks coupons cut out and ready to go.

(2) A new hair color

Time to go darker and cover up the bleach.

(3) A ‘new’ fall outfit from Goodwill

The hunt is half the fun. Looking forward to finding a complete outfit, from head-to-toe, for fall.

(4) Get my flu shot

Trying to decide if I should wait until October 1st or get it now. They are calling for an early flu season. On that note, stay away from the pigs if you go to any fairs this fall, seriously.

(5) Visit a pumpkin patch and watch It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

It’s just what you do for Halloween, along with eating candy.

(6) Go to the beach

It’s my most favorite time of the year to visit the beach.

(7) Try three new fall recipes

One in September, October, and November. I’ll be sure to share them with you here. Maybe a dessert, a soup, or something with pumpkin or apples!

(8) Make three new craft projects

One in September, October, and November. I’ll share them here too!

(9) Attend a Fall Festival

They’re all over the place. I’ll be sure to go to at least one.

(10) Lose 15 pounds

Ok, so it has nothing to do with fall, but since Kalee inspired my bucket list I have to have a fitness goal. I’ll try for 5 pounds each month. With the weather getting cooler I can get out and walk. It’s going to be tough with all those fall foods though!

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For the last 6 months I’ve had a booth inside the Lake Country Indoor Flea Market in South Hill, Virginia. It’s done really well and today, with a lot of help from my husband, I moved into a bigger booth. So exciting!!!! I love the new space, it’s completely closed in with pegboard and it’s carpeted too. I sell second hand items, mostly things of my own, as we are trying to downsize. I also sell items that I’ve re-purposed. Today I also added a clothing rack. If you ever find yourself in South Hill, be sure to stop by and check out Sweet Repeats! There really is something for everyone.

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Tonight is another Republican Presidential Candidate Debate. It’s being held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We had to leave the Grand Strand this morning, but it would have been nice to attend. We were bombarded with TV and radio ads during our stay. I don’t even want to know how much money is being spent on the ads. The primary in Virginia isn’t until March. I’d imagine by then the Republican Candidate will already be decided. While we were at Broadway at the Beach, we snagged some free political swag! You know if it’s FREE, it’s for me! The only candidate with representatives campaigning for him was Newt Gingrich. The rest of the swag was from lobbyists and local candidates. A group of sand artists were working on sculptures for the event.

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Happy New Year everyone! Another year gone….whew….I can’t believe it. This is my 4th year for blogging and posting my goals. I’m hoping to be able to take things a little slower this year. My days always seem so rushed. How about yours? Here are the 5 goals I’m focusing on for the year. (I’m glad none of these involve school anymore!)

(1) Continue to downsize and organize. Last year I opened Sweet Repeats, my booth at an area flea market, which will help out a great deal. One man’s junk clutter is another man’s treasure! I will also use eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook to bring in some cash for my unwanted things. I plan to have a yard sale in the spring. I’ll also be making donations to my favorite store, Goodwill. I’m optimistic that this will be the year my office/stockpile/catch-all room will be cleaned, painted, and organized.

(2) Start a weekly blog series…52 Weeks of Goodwill. Ok, so this goes opposite of the downsizing goal, but you just can’t keep me out of Goodwill! It’s my favorite store. I love, love thrifting. I’ll be doing a weekly post featuring items I find in Goodwill. I hope you’ll stick around for that.

(3) Enter a minimum of 10 giveaways or contests per week. You can’t win if you don’t enter! Who doesn’t love to win something? This will be my equivalent of playing the lottery, except it won’t cost me a dime. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll win something nice.

(4) Get healthier. This is on my list every year it seems. I’m a nurse. I should be healthy and in shape. That’s all I’m saying.

(5) Bump up my couponing and money saving / budgeting skills. One thing I got away from when I was in school was clipping my coupons and filing them on a weekly basis. I want to be sure I get back on track. (Yay me, I already did today’s inserts!) I need to make sure I always have my coupons with me when I shop.

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I can’t believe another year is almost gone. It’s time to review last year’s goals and make plans for 2012. Let’s see how I did. Here is my 2011 post.

(1) Graduate from RN school in May (and pass my boards) – totally successful with this one. I took my RN boards on June 1st and passed and am working as a psych nurse.

(2) Live a healthier life – umm,still working on this one. Easier said than done.

(3) Eat at home more – working on this one too. It’s just me and my husband, with all the great coupons and discounts that have been available it’s many times cheaper to eat out than prepare a meal at home.

(4) Post on On The Banks Of Stony Creek at least once a week – looking at my post numbers for each month, I did pretty well with this. What’s strange is I posted more when I was in school. I think the busier I am, the more I get accomplished. Is that true for you as well?

(5) Continue to declutter, organize, and downsize – In August I opened Sweet Repeats, a booth at an area flea market/mini mall where I’ve been selling items in an attempt to downsize. It’s been very successful. The office / stockpile room is still not done and I never even had a yard sale- FAIL on that part.

(6) Go to my 25th high school reunion – done! It was nice to go back to my hometown to see old friends. If you’ve never been to a reunion, I encourage you to go and reconnect.

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Some people enjoy visiting historical sites, some prefer museums, and there are others that enjoy art galleries. One of my favorite things to visit is food and beverage manufacturers! Back in May I visited Bush’s Beansin Tennessee. This week I had the opportunity to pass through Mt. Olive, North Carolina, the unofficial pickle capital of the world.

Mt. Olive has a visitor’s center / gift shop (located at the corner of Cucumber and Vine) where you can view a movie about the manufacturing process and the history of the company. I couldn’t believe that some of the pickles (the spears) are still packed by hand! After learning about the process we were allowed to choose a product to take home.

I love the Pickle-Paks. Have you tried them? They are ideal for packed lunches.

The Mt. Olive Pickle Company employs 500 people year round and during the summer it reaches 800. Hooray for US jobs!

I couldn’t leave without bringing home an Ollie t-shirt. I’m wishing now I would have grabbed the dill pickle slice earrings. You can’t find those everyday. Thanks Ollie for your hospitality, I had a picklicious time!

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Welcome fall! Finally our temperatures have dropped enough to turn off the air conditioning and open the windows. I love this time of year ~ all the colors, smells, and tastes of autumn! I’ve had so much going on the past month. In addition to my full-time nursing position, I’m tutoring nursing students at the local community college one day a week. Also,at the beginning of August I rented a booth at a nearby indoor flea market/antique mall and my first two months have been very successful. I’m using my booth to do some downsizing. Of course I’m still bargain shopping each week. Something had to give and unfortunately my blog has been neglected. Time for me to get refocused, change some priorities, and get to posting more. Thanks to those who have checked on me, I’ve just been very, very busy.

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I took the NCLEX -RN exam yesterday and found out this morning that I passed. I’m officially a Registered Nurse. Now the real-world learning begins. Thanks again for all the support. So glad to have my life back!

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Don’t you love it when you’re driving along and just happen upon something? Last month I was riding through North Carolina and wound up in the town of Mount Olive, the home of Mount Olive pickles. Unfortunately I missed seeing the pickle plant, but I hope to pass through there again. Yesterday I was riding on a winding road in Tennessee and it took me right by the Bush’s plant. I was so excited to stop! They had a very nice Visitor’s Center, General Store, and even a Cafe right where Bush’s all began many, many years ago. I was able to watch a movie about the history of the company and how the beans are canned. I was amazed by the whole process. There was a second movie starring Jay & Duke about the history of grilling. (You know them from the commercials, right?) There was a nice museum with several hands-on activities. You can even get your picture taken with Duke or a giant can of Bush’s beans! The ‘Secret Family Recipe’ is there as well. It was a fun stop and I recommend it if you’re ever passing through eastern Tennessee with your family. Bush’s is located in the town of Chestnut Hill. Of course I stocked up on lots of Bush’s products from the General Store!

Bush’s has a wonderful websitewith tips, recipes, product information, company history, and more information about the Visitor’s Center.